frequently asked questions
The information on this page will help you understand how to perform your workouts.
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What type of exercise will I perform?
How fast should I perform the exercises?
How long do I rest between exercises?
How do I breathe during an exercise?
What the heck is my "core" and what do I do with it?
How many workouts should I do each week?
My workout seems easy right now. What’s up?
How hard should I be working during a training session?
How much weight should I lift?
How much weight should I choose for the next set?
Should I do a warm-up set before a resistance training exercise?
Is it normal to feel pain during my workouts?
How do I modify an exercise if I feel injury pain?
I modified my workout but I still have pain. What should I do?
Q: How do you create my workout?
In order to help you achieve steady progress, your coach will manipulate the following training variables in a systematic fashion:
Exercise. An activity that requires physical or mental exertion. The best exercises are safe, effective, and goal-specific.
Order. Sequence or arrangement of exercises.
Repetition. One complete movement of an exercise. Most repetitions ("reps") consist of three muscle actions: eccentric (lengthening of your muscle), isometric (your muscle is tensed but there is no movement, like you are “flexing” your muscle), and concentric (shortening of your muscle).
Set. A group of consecutive repetitions.
Intensity. Level of effort produced compared to the maximal effort possible.
Tempo. Speed of a repetition.
Volume. Amount of physical activity performed within a workout. In particular, the total amount of time your muscle is under tension.
Rest Interval. Time taken to recover between sets of an exercise.
Frequency. Number of workouts performed each week.
Duration. Length of a workout or the time spent in a particular training phase.
Q: What type of exercise will I perform?
We use six workout building blocks to create your personalized exercise program:
Dynamic Warm-Up increases core body temperature, lubricates your joints, and gets you mentally prepared for the workout. This replaces old-school warm-ups (think static toe touches).
Reactive Training teaches you to bend, turn, and twist quickly. So you'll be less likely to get hurt when you need to move in a hurry.
Resistance Training strategically challenges your muscles so you rev up your metabolism, burn fat, and slow aging (among many other benefits).
Core & Balance works your body's core (abs, lower back, hips and glutes) with original exercises. Say goodbye to backache.
Cardiorespiratory Conditioning gets your heart and lungs moving to burn calories, prevent disease, and beat stress. Your customized workouts require your to train within your "target heart rate zone."
If you don't have one already, it's a good idea to pick up an inexpensive heart rate monitor. Seeing your heart rate on a wrist watch is a lot easier than checking your pulse manually when you're sweating and out of breath.
Recovery is a series of creative stretching and massage techniques to rejuvenate tired muscles so you're ready for the next session.
Some of your workouts will use a foam roller to gently release the adhesions in your muscles. This happens when you place pressure on the knots for 20-30 seconds while breathing. It's like getting a massage after every workout.
Q: How fast should I perform the exercises?
The speed at which you do each repetition is called tempo.
In general, most exercises should be done in a smooth, controlled manner. The exception to the rule is if you are performing an explosive movement (like a jump).
Tempo is displayed in a three-digit format, where each number represents time in seconds.
Here is an example of Tempo (E,I,C): 2,1,2
2 seconds - Eccentric action (lengthening of your muscle) often occurs when you lower the weight.
1 second - Isometric action (your muscle is tensed but there is no movement, like you are “flexing” your muscle) is the pause at the top or bottom of the rep.
2 seconds - Concentric action (shortening of your muscle) usually occurs when you raise/lift the weight.
The tempo for each movement is displayed on your workout, below the name of the exercise.
Q: How long do I rest between exercises?
Recovery is important between sets of an exercise, between exercises, and especially between workouts. How long you rest between sets is determined by your goal and is displayed on your workouts.
For example, you may be instructed to rest 45 seconds between sets. Research tells us that powerful, muscle-building hormones are released at this specific rest interval.
Remember that exercise is a stressor that builds muscle, increases bone strength, boosts calorie burning, and much more. A number of factors including age, nutrition, stress level, and sleep affect how quickly you recover from your last workout.
Q: How do I breathe during an exercise?
As a general rule, breathe out as you exert yourself. Never hold your breath, as this could raise blood pressure.
Q: What the heck is my "core" and what do I do with it?
Your abdomen, hips, glutes (buttocks) and low back—collectively known as your core—serve many important roles. Strong core muscles reduce the chance of backache, shield vital organs, and transfer forces between your upper and lower body.
In order to protect your low back, you'll need to "activate" your core muscles. Draw your belly button inward, tense your abs, and hold this stabilized position during all exercises. At the same time, perform a Kegel contraction (tighten the muscles you'd use to stop the flow of urine; hold).
At the start you'll find that it's a real challenge to keep your core muscles (particularly the muscles of your pelvic floor) under tension for more than a few seconds at a time. Not to worry, you'll build core strength and stamina after a few workouts. This tip alone is one of the best ways to beat backache.
Q: How many workouts should I do each week?
A critical component of exercise program design is exercise frequency. Based on a number of factors you will train between two to four times weekly; however, it is not efficient to complete a 4-week program in less than 28 days. In short, it changes the predictable outcome of the program (fat burning, performance or muscle development, for example). This makes the program less effective and may even lead to overtraining.
So if you feel good enough to train three times per week, perform the workouts in this fashion:
Sample 3-Day Frequency:
Monday-Week #1, Workout #1
Wednesday-Week #1, Workout #2
Friday-Week #1, Workout #1
Monday-Week #2, Workout #2
Wednesday-Week #2, Workout #1
Friday-Week #2, Workout #2
(Week #3 same as Week #1, Week #4 same as Week #2)
If you’re ready for the challenge of four sessions per week, perform the workouts in this fashion:
Sample 4-Day Frequency:
Monday-Week #1, Workout #1
Tuesday-Week #1, Workout #2
Thursday-Week #1, Workout #1
Friday-Week #1, Workout #2
The good news is that WorkoutEngine’s simple scheduling tool helps you stay organized so you never miss a workout.
Q: My workout seems easy right now. What’s up?
There are a few reasons that you have received an "easy" workout.
1. You selected "Beginner" experience level.
2. You filled out the pain questionnaire and indicated multiple injuries, which may limit the number of exercises we can safely recommend.
3. You filled out the equipment questionnaire and indicated that you have little/no access to equipment which may limit the number of exercises we can recommend.
4. Any combination of the previous three reasons may also limit available exercises.
Remember that the term “easy” is relative. Yes, your workouts will take you longer on some days than others; however, you should always give your best effort. If you do the work, your body will have no choice but to change. That means less fat, faster metabolism, and the laundry list of benefits that go hand-in-hand with a smart training plan.
Our programs are designed to be completed in a progressive fashion. In other words, new exercise routines are the foundation on which all future workouts are built upon. This is why some people get hurt when they start an intense training plan without the proper introductory workouts.
You’ve got to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run.
Q: How hard should I be working during a training session?
Coaches use various scales to determine intensity or quality of effort. How hard your heart and lungs work (target heart rate) is measured by a percentage of your age-predicted maximal heart rate.
Figure out your target heart rate with this simple formula:
220 – your age x 60 - 80%
So if you are 30 years old, your heart rate range is between 114 BPM (beats per minute) and 176 BPM. Of course this is just one of several different formulas used to figure out target heart rate.
Coaches vary the percentages based on the goal that they are trying to accomplish, like building endurance vs. explosive power.
The easiest way to track your heart rate during a workout is with a heart rate monitor. Simply strap it on your wrist and go. It alerts you if you are working in, above or below your target heart rate.
In resistance training, 100 percent intensity is your best performance during an exercise. When executing an exercise with all-out effort (overload or failure), pay strict attention to your form. Poor technique will always do more harm than good. Every so often, we will reduce your workout volume (how much work you do) after a week of tough training.
Perform each exercise according to the intensity recommendations found on your workouts.
Q: How much weight should I lift?
Choosing the right weight (force) for a particular resistance training exercise may be the difference between transforming your body in 12 short weeks or getting nowhere fast, even though you are “working hard.” (Think of a hamster running on a wheel.)
Determining the force for an exercise is more art than science.
Here's why: We can test you on a given day in the bench press, squat, and other resistance training exercises. Based on your scores, we can derive a repetition maximum (RM) for that particular movement. From there, we can apply these numbers to percentage charts which will give us a ballpark force to use on a particular day, for a particular exercise.
But here’s the problem: All of our assumptions are based on the outcome of your testing day. So if your performance was middle-of-the-road, all of your derived forces will be lower than what you are actually capable of using in a workout.
On the other hand, you might test well but have an occasional training day where you feel sluggish—thus the estimated forces will be too heavy.
A simple solution: Pick a challenging force that will allow you to perform the recommended repetitions, with excellent technique. Do this on every set of every exercise (with the exception of your warm-up sets).
Q: How much weight should I choose for the next set?
Scenario #1: You completed the recommended number of reps with excellent technique and relative ease.
Next set you should: Increase the weight by 5-10 pounds for upper-body exercises (10-30 pounds for lower-body moves).
Scenario #2: You struggled to complete the recommended number of reps with exceptional technique.
Next set you should: Maintain the same force as the previous set.
Scenario #3: You barely completed the recommended number of reps and your technique began to break down on the last rep.
Next set you should: Decrease the weight by 5-10 pounds for upper-body exercises (10-30 pounds for lower-body moves).
Q: Should I do a warm-up set before a resistance training exercise?
Yes. Be sure to warm up before you start your work sets. So if your workout requires 3s (sets) x 10r (reps), perform 1-2 warm-up sets prior to starting the actual set.
This will accomplish three important things:
1. Increase the temperature of your muscles, to reduce thechance of injury.
2. Fire up your neuromuscular pathways (brain-muscle connection) which helps improve your technique.
3. Mentally prepare you to give your best effort on the actual work set.
Lastly, the warm-up set requires you to perform one-half of the reps required in the work set. For example, if we ask you perform 3s x 10r for the barbell squat, your warm-up sets would require only 5 reps. This technique helps save energy for the work set.
Q: Is it normal to feel pain during my workouts?
The 1970’s gym mantra, “no pain, no gain” is as outdated as knee-high tube socks; however, it’s normal to feel some discomfort associated with muscular fatigue. Just be sure you understand the difference between fatigue and injury.
Fatigue pain is a normal occurrence which is related to several factors, namely exercise intensity. You may feel a burning sensation in your muscles during an exercise. The culprit here is lactic acid, a normal byproduct of intense physical activity.
Any other dull ache or sharp pain associated with exercise may be classified as injury pain. Stop exercising immediately if you experience this type of discomfort.
Be sure to update the pain questionnaire so we can change your workout accordingly.
Q: How do I modify an exercise if I feel injury pain?
In case you feel injury pain during your training session, follow these four simple rules.
1. Reduce the resistance. Simply lower the weight by 5 or 10 pounds.
2. Modify your technique. That is, either range of motion, hand position, or body position.
3. Use different equipment. If you have pain holding a barbell, try the same movement using a dumbbell. Or try elastic tubing vs. a barbell for a particular exercise.
4. Choose an alternate exercise. When all else fails, pick a new movement.
Be sure to update the pain questionnaire when it's time to generate your new workout.
Q: I modified my workout but I still have pain. What should I do?
I'm sure you know someone who's hurt themselves during a workout. Since most exercise-related injuries are due to sloppy technique, you can avoid the unnecessary aches by following these tips.
When performing most standing exercises, pull your shoulder blades together and hold (like you are squeezing a pencil between them). This helps stabilize your shoulders.
Keep your neck and low back in a neutral position (not overly extended or flexed). Think of balancing a book on your head and walking a few steps.
If you are lying on your back (supine), be sure that your head, tailbone, and shoulder blades maintain contact with the bench or floor.
If you've done everything recommended yet still have pain, talk to your medical professional.